Watercolor paintings are prized for their luminous appearance and tendency towards flowing and impressionistic styles. They have many other virtues as well, such as relatively inexpensive materials and low toxicity of the paints. There are ways to achieve the virtues of a watercolor painting, however, without using that type of paint. Ink can be used to achieve virtually the same effects.
Drawing Inks
Drawing inks are typically water based, although some resist water and dilution. While water-based inks have some drawbacks, such as a tendency to fade quickly, they also have many virtues. Drawing inks designed for use with dip pens or brushes can be thinned with water to create washes of many different opacities and values. This means they can be used very much like watercolor paint and the two can prove interchangeable for many types of art.
Ink Washes
When creating ink washes, the ink is used almost exactly like watercolor paint. The artist thins the ink with water to create the desired opacity, then paints the ink with a brush onto watercolor paper, illustration board or rice paper. Like watercolor, thinned ink is best used in layers, going from light to dark. Keep in mind that ink tends to be less forgiving than watercolor. The artist can alter a watercolor painting somewhat by adding more water to the paper, but ink resists changes.
Pen and Ink Drawings
Artists often used often use watercolor paints to add color to drawings done in pen. This is possible using ink washes as well. The artist creates a pen drawing using water-resistant ink, often from an art pen. After the drawing dries, an ink wash can be applied over it, adding color and value to the image. This particular technique can be tricky, since the ink drawing can become fuzzy or faded if the ink used to make it is not water-resistant enough.
Chinese Brush Painting
Chinese brush painting is a particular style of painting that involves flowing brushstrokes and idealized subjects. Traditionally, the medium used for this type of painting is made from grinding dry ink cakes and mixing the powder with water. The artist is able to control the consistency and opacity of the ground ink by adding water. This creates an effect very similar to watercolor paints. In turn, artists can easily use watercolors to imitate Chinese brush painting.
